hwy 160 Mountain Springs,turned north at the saloon taking the dirt road behind the DOT station. Drove for approx. 1/2 mile and parked. Hike the dirt road to the top of the ridge going across country to the north/south ridge going to Mountain Springs Peak.
Black Velvet is in view from there. Took the limestone ridge down to where it meets the sandstone. Followed the cairns to the peak. very easy route.

I and a buddy were waiting at the gate when it opened and were the first on-route – just barely. We fought the cold and wind all the way up Crimson Chrysalis and it took a total of 9 hours for us to ascend and rap off the route. It truly was a fantastic route. The trail there is real confusing, hike in the area beforehand. Get there very early. Bring extra layers and a pee bottle.

Started a bit too late and was slowed down by the fact that I was climbing with two others as a three person team. Overall, A rather spectacular climb! We made it to the 9th pitch (including the Solar gulley 'pitches'). The first pitch of Solar Slab was perfect: Exposed, long, easy, and excellent gear placements. Bring a jacket in late winter- for there is nothing 'solar' about the route during such times. Thanks Aarash for recommending such an excellent route, wish you could have been there with us! (BTW Josh, your sub 25 minute ascent of this route makes me want to quit climbing :-)

Route-finding on the last ridge is a bit tricky, and rather unforgiving. The fastest way up is via Juniper Canyon, and around the backside of Rainbow Wall, but that route is very confusing. The Oak Cr route described here is a better choice for 1st-timers.

The "Rainbow Mountain" described here is what Branch Whitney refers to as "Rainbow Peak". The "Rainbow Mountain" described by the DPS is actually the "Rainbow Wall" described here (summitpost) and in Branch Whitney's guides.

The USGS map has a label "Rainbow Mountain" on the topo near the 6810' peak, but the USGS names are not sacrosanct, and were usually picked by asking locals, "what's that?" Check out the label for "Bridge Mountain" if you need convincing. However, the USGS deci_nv file lists:

From the scenic loop, the 6810' "Peak" looks dominant. But from the Lovell Canyon side -- the traditional hiking route, before the late 90's-- the "Peak" is just a lump, and the 6924' "Wall" is the obvious highpoint.

To add to the confusion, the Las Vegas Mountaineers' Club used to list "Rainbow Peak" as 6924', as a summit on their peakbagger list. I asked ffor a clarification on this, and was told that they meant the 6924' summit ("Wall") was the intended goal for peak-baggers.

Few people ever go to the 6810' Peak described here, partly because of the class 4 downclimb. Usually, when people say they've hiked up Rainbow Mountain, they mean "Rainbow Wall".

WOW! What a route!! Mark and I gained the terrace via Solar Slab Gully (the waterfall on pitch 5 was oozing and wet which made the stemming a bit more exciting). Had beautiful weather--mid 70's with absolutely NO wind!! Only two other parties ahead of us on Solar Slab itself. Really enjoyed the pitches. There were so many, that it is hard to keep them all straight. A real mixture of climbing--edges, finger cracks, lie backs, stemming, smearing . . . it has it all. Made it to the top and then started heading left following cairns for the descent of Black Orpheus (Super Topo has a great description of this descent). The descent was an adventure unto itself--very long!! Two rappels and then endless Class 2-4 slabs (if in doubt head down and right toward the creek bed). Bushwhacking through/down the creekbed--this route just keeps giving. Supertopo stated it takes most parties 1.5 hours to navigate the creekbed--they weren't joking. At this point, we were losing our daylight and it was becoming clear we were going to be unable to backtrack to the base of Solar Slab and retrieve our packs--we decided to just return the next morning to get them. Fortunately, we had phoned the day before for a late exit pass as we made it back to our car at 9:00 p.m. What a satisfying feeling to be close up the place! We returned the next morning and enjoyed a leisurely hike to our packs and did the tourist thing--snapped photos. =) What an awesome route! We'll definitely be back to do this one again!

Power Failure (Mar. ??, 2009). Nice climbing in a small package (3P). Shirley took the middle (crux) pitch. Final pitch was soft for 10a. TR here.

Black Orpheus (Oct. 7, 2007). Shirley & I climbed this swapping leads. I somehow did not have big expectations for this route (mid 30% of it is kinda forgettable) but we actually had a very fun time on it. The pitches that get the high rating (.9 & .9+/10a) were actually kind of what one would expect. We found the last 2 pitches kind of harder than expected esp. the 5.5 slab at the very top...in fact ST has the very top of P11 labeled as 5.2. Maybe I missed an easier line?? Descent & hike out were long. Passed Fred Beckey day before as he was hiking into Pine Creek.

Ginger Cracks (Nov. 26, 2004). Final and best route of our trip to RR. Wonderful mix of climbing. The chimney on P2 looks intimidating but is in fact a ton of fun (stellar pro). Doesn't feel as exposed as Crimson but the climbing is more varied (and unlike Crimson has only 1 hanging belay). 5.9 pitch seems to have run into a retrobolter (bolts in places that take small cams - why?). I pulled off a 1X1 foot block on that pitch and after giving everyone on the wall a loud, profanity-ladden warning, launched it down.

Beulah's Book(Nov. 25, 2004). Great short route. The short chimney is unforgettable. The layback above is easier than it looks. There was human (or I should say subhuman filthy animal) turd above chimney on P2. We thought about doing Solar Slab but changed our minds when we got in line, took the number and it read "11"....next time.

Crimson Chrysalis (Jul. 11, 2004). Shirley and I climbed this under the July sun. Actually conditions on the climb were perfect. The route is in the shade most of the day and cool breezes roll through constantly. Best part of the day was the fact that we were the only people on route ALL day. Unbelievable!! The route is beautiful and truly deserves its status as a classic. Have never climbed a 5.8 like this before. It takes a straight line up the nearly vertical north face of Cloud Tower (I think it IS vertical for first 3.5 pitches). You get this "big wall" feel as all the belays (excpt two) are hanging. All belays are beautifully (triply or quadruply) bolted (and equipped with rap rings). All bolts (except ones on P9) are shiny new and beefy. This was the 2nd highpoint of the climbing season so far this year (1st being the Tip of Lost Arrow Spire in Yos.)!!

One of the best hiking routes in the Red Rock area. Oak Creek Canyon is extremely scenic. The cascades were flowing everywhere. The ramp up to the summit ridge is quick and easy. Some nice, exposed class 3 & 4 scrambling just before the main summit. From the top, great views of Rainbow Wall, Juniper Peak, Bridge Mountain, Mt. Wilson, etc. My new favorite Red Rock peak.